Ch.130Pelheim Senova (3)

Fellheim Senova (3)

Fellheim Senova couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the small girl blocking her sword.

Her expression was a mess.

With tears welling up in her eyes as if she had trusted her, anyone watching might think they had known each other for a long time.

How amusing.

“With that mindset, do you really think you can defeat the Demon Lord?”

“I-I can do it!”

Fellheim Senova retreated step by step as she was pushed back in her power struggle with Tina, a bitter smile crossing her face.

She was losing ground. She realized her own powerlessness, so far removed from her prime.

And because of this, Fellheim Senova couldn’t retreat any further.

The plan had already begun.

“…This is slightly different from what I expected.”

“Indeed. I never thought the hero would notice your presence.”

Honestly, Six’s plan had been significantly derailed.

She had intended to hide her true self inside Commander Nine’s armor and send Esmeralda wandering into the empty central camp.

Make her search endlessly while completely cutting off the rear.

That was Six’s plan.

Essentially implementing the opposite of the hero Esmeralda’s plan.

In that process, Fellheim Senova needed to help her decisively.

“Wasn’t your ambition excessive?”

“I did test the waters, but I made an effort, didn’t I? I even dealt that woman an unavoidable blow… It’s hard to say this mess is entirely my fault.”

If she had helped decisively from the beginning, things would have been much easier.

But Fellheim Senova wanted to preserve her forces, so she had been responding lukewarmly.

Of course, she did attack Eirene Saintess in sync with Six’s timing.

She even did so while cutting off help from Millia, who would have been firing magic from atop the walls, taking full advantage of the fact that her betrayal hadn’t yet been discovered.

“It seems we both underestimated each other.”

“That sounds rather ambiguous.”

“How would you like to interpret it?”

It could be taken to mean that she had lost a clear advantage due to her greed.

Fellheim Senova was barely holding off Tina’s rapid attacks.

Soon the soldiers, who had been too confused to act, would come to their senses and notice her betrayal.

“Fellheim Senova has betrayed the Empire!! She is a traitor!!”

To make matters worse, a situation forcing her decision arrived.

Fellheim Senova frowned at the voice coming from the wall.

The chaotic situation.

Words that instantly clarified everything spread far and wide.

Fellheim Senova glared at her former loyal adjutant who had climbed the wall and was shouting, driving her into a corner.

He held a communication magic tool in his hand, and it was obvious what it was connected to.

“You must pay the price for your greed, mustn’t you?”

“……”

Originally, all communications had been blocked.

It was simple to block magic under the pretext of inspection, which was a feature of the fortress city.

If rumors of her betrayal spread, she could be captured without being able to do anything.

She needed to control information as best she could, and even then, she was operating under a time limit.

But Commander Six had easily undone that. The formidable ability befitting the head of the 8th Magic Tower.

Between attacking the hero’s party and the real-time accusations of treason being transmitted through imperial forces, Fellheim Senova had become a criminal with no room for excuses.

How ironic.

The injustice she had suffered had become reality because of her greed.

“Now, are you convinced enough to accept my offer?”

The Empire’s hero, discarded like a used tool.

It was Six who recognized her situation. In some ways, even faster than Fellheim Senova herself.

That’s why she had put effort into the groundwork to win her over.

“Haah… I was certainly excessive.”

Commander Six had promised to restore Fellheim Senova’s youth in exchange for her cooperation.

Of course, turning back time comes with a price.

Even if she regained her prime strength by accepting that power, she would barely last a month.

And it was obvious that once she underwent such a procedure, Fellheim Senova’s soul would belong to Commander Six after death.

Yes, that had been Commander Six’s goal from the beginning.

Fellheim Senova in her prime. Wouldn’t she be sufficient as a military asset?

“I see no way out.”

In other words, having come this far, Fellheim Senova had no path to survival.

“Then I might as well ensure my revenge is complete.”

Did she still have reason to devote herself to the Empire?

Was there any reason to work for a world that rejected her after a lifetime of devotion?

Could she calmly accept the deaths of the family she had loved so much and quietly allow herself to be purged?

Fellheim Senova pulled out a black orb from her breast and contemplated.

What Commander Six had given her as payment.

Magic that could return her body to its prime.

But the moment she accepted it, there would be no turning back.

Her end would ultimately be death, and even after death, her soul would be captured by Six, forcing her to fight endlessly.

As she thought about this, she suddenly chuckled and muttered.

“Well, it’s not much different from how I’ve lived until now.”

She had always been the Empire’s dog. She had spent her entire life on battlefields. So what was the difference?

Only her master would change.

Fellheim Senova clutched the orb and accepted the magic contained within it into her body.

***

Commander Nine was strong.

Just not at the level of the hero’s party.

They had already anticipated victory against Twelve, and since then, they had achieved rapid growth based on effort and experience.

So even facing Commander Nine, they felt they had a chance.

The existence of Commander Six was concerning, but they thought that if they could just draw her out, they could defeat her with Garnet’s help.

However, Esmeralda had to admit that this thinking was wrong.

‘This is…’

Even just her strength as a knight gave the impression of an iron wall.

Yet while maintaining such impenetrable defenses, she freely deployed magic to subdue the surrounding area.

‘She’s much more of a monster than I thought!’

She uses ritual magic that normally requires time without any difficulty.

She creates numerous magic circles while swinging her sword.

The sword swings and shield blocks are all Commander Nine’s strength.

And inside Nine’s body, Six focuses solely on magic.

A knight’s weakness.

A mage’s weakness.

All perfectly erased, combining only their strengths into an ideal powerhouse.

Garnet had said.

In a one-on-one situation with Commander Six, she could win.

While Six was much stronger in magic, Garnet claimed she wouldn’t lose in close combat.

But could she still say that now?

A solid knight with magic deployed around that knight.

The ideal form of a magic swordsman.

“Wasn’t your ambition excessive?”

Despite Esmeralda, Eirene, and the fortress city’s knights attacking together, there was an overwhelming sense of composure.

No, rather, since Commander Six revealed her identity, even approaching her had become arduous.

“You must pay the price for your greed, mustn’t you?”

Moreover, Commander Six was acting as if Esmeralda and the fortress city’s soldiers weren’t even worth her attention.

The proof was that she was looking only at Fellheim Senova while blocking her charge.

If she had seriously engaged everyone including Esmeralda, the battle might have been decided instantly.

“Now then.”

And just as Esmeralda was anxiously considering ways to defeat Six over and over again.

“With this, half my objective is achieved. Welcome to the Demon Lord’s army.”

KWAAAAAAAA!

A powerful aura erupted from behind Esmeralda.

“Lady Fellheim Senova.”

Even with an enemy before her, Esmeralda couldn’t help but turn to witness the scene. What her emerald eyes captured was a situation far worse than she had imagined.

Silver hair flowing down to the waist.

Eerie red eyes.

An eyepatch over one eye and scars that seemed to prove she had crossed countless battlefields.

A stern-looking officer exhaling deeply with tobacco in her mouth.

The beautiful battlefield commander.

[Name: Fellheim Senova]

[Race: Human] [Titles: Hero of the Fortress City, Shield of the Frontline, Dying Glory]

Something unexpected.

Something not factored into their assumptions.

Something they hadn’t even needed to consider.

[Estimated Level: 1011]

Fellheim Senova.

The individual power that the commander possessed in her prime.

“My body certainly feels lighter. Almost a shame it’s limited to a month.”

Fellheim Senova, returned to her prime, clenched and unclenched her fist before breaking into laughter.

“Hahah, now I understand. Of course they thought to discard me when the difference became this great.”

The reason a common soldier could rise to become the commander of the fortress city, a crucial stronghold.

The reason she could hold out until now without any backing.

“I must have forgotten what kind of person I originally was.”

It stemmed not from ability or authority, but from individual power.

“Don’t you think so? Someone like you who has similar dreams should understand.”

In an era without a hero.

The hero who stood closest to being a hero asked Esmeralda, the hero who was walking the same path as her past self.

“Aren’t you struggling desperately just like I was then? Hmm?”

As if asking whether she really thought she could be any different from herself.